Apparition
by Rivetting Silence
Summary: Neji has awoken weeks after the beginning of the war between Iwagakure and Hyuuga. Journeying to sunagakure for refuge he brings Sasuke, Kakashi, Hinata and himself conflicts. NejiHina onesided NejiSasu KakaSasu! Awkward OOOCness
1. Guerre

"Neji-niisan!" Hanabi caught up with the Hyuuga Jounin. Long hair tied at the end. He turned around.

"Yes, Hanabi-sama?" He gave a courteous smile. She heaved and grinned at him.

"Did you forget Hinata-neesan's birthday? Its today!" She smiled.

"Aa… I know… I have not forgotten. I cannot come. I have… business." Not about to tell what he really felt, he made up an excuse. "Oh, I almost forgot." He fished into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Give this to Hinata-sama please." Hanabi smiled and took it gracefully. "Wish her a happy birthday?" She nodded and skipped off. "Damn… why'd Hanabi have to grow up to be so adorable?"

Apparition Chapter One

Guerre

The abysmal darkness was all he could see. Where was he, and how did he end up in such a place? The cold floor he lay upon wrinkled what he wore whatever that was. His spine tingled at the floor's low temperature seeping through his clothes, feeling the hairs on his body stand on end. His eyes slowly slid open, releasing the pressure upon his lower eyelids. His sealed lips unconsciously cracked open, entering a cool breath of air pouring down his throat and filling his lungs. His chest rose quickly, and slowly fell. The mosaic that one could possibly call vision slowly adapted. The first things caught into visual were lights fading past the eyelids, stretching to as far as he could see and possibly beyond. Once the light's elastic energy released, his creamy white could then see clearly, at least as clear as he could see with hair in his face. The rugged crosshatched roof built from heaven knows what kind of wood allowed minimal light to appear from missed spaces. The tan gray wood was shading most things about him. The rays of sunshine beamed down in a strong sturdy line, never seeming to stop until it reached a surface, dust particles fluttering in these heavenly lights. He felt his body warm up, indicating his adaptation to the low temperature. The fresh scent of a sweet substance whatever that may be drifted toward him. The sound of low chattering of squirrels and birds chirped around him. A brush of leaves shook around him.

He sighed without any breath within him and slowly sat up, putting his hands against the rugged surface he lay upon, flinching as it pressed against a sharp stone. He instantaneously pulled away. And rose his hands close to his face. His pale hands' color broke off as a bitter crimson slightly slithered down his palm.

"Damn it…" The muttered. "I hate bleeding…" Sitting up gave him a better view of where he was, and a slight imbalance at his head. The cause of his pain and the dirt on white sewn imprinted shirt was a dirty gray tiled surface; stones were apparently blown through the non-existent door. Outside was nothing but fern, grass and dirt. Behind him was a door. Not so much a door more than a decoration of streams of grasses dangling down this hollow decoration of bamboo door makeshift. He blew his black hair out of his mouth and stood up; swinging his arms forward to maintain what little balance he had left. "Hello?" His voice cracked as he nearly sang out the words. "Gomen kudas—whoa!" He saw from behind, through the door, shuriken. He slid to his left, safely dodging the dark shadows, letting them go out the other out of the this forest treated household. He turned around, shuffling in his kunai pouch for none other than a kunai. When he was ready to face the enemy, he met another kunai to his neck.

"H—Hieru—" the opponent called out. The face was covered in white except for her similar creamy white eyes and few locks of her blue glazed hair. The boy took no notice of her features, and as if this boy would stop because some GIRL told him to. He arched himself backwards and used his hands for support. His right leg rose and struck her in the jaw. The hidden shinobi winced in pain and hit the floor.

The boy stepped back, formed five hand seals. The veins around his eyes bulged as his pupil barely came into vision. "Byakugan!" He called. The ninja on the floor froze as she saw his eyes. She then knew who he was. "Who are you?" The Hyuuga demanded.

"N—Neji-niisan!" The girl called out breathlessly. Said Neji stopped advancing.

"Wha? Hinata-sama?" He called quite dumb-foundedly. He figured it could only be her. Hanabi-imoto was too young to be as… developed as this girl in size and… well you know. He quickly kneeled over her and tore off the white cloth wrapping around her face. "H—Hinata-sama! Wha—what are you doing here? Where IS here in fact? Uh—!" Neji's knee suddenly caved, and he hit the floor with an uncomfortable thud.

"N—Neji-niisan! Neji!" She nearly dived into her cousin, seeming practically oblivious of Neji's fall. Her arms wrapped tightly around Neji's neck he fell back, barely able to maintain balance as it already was. "N-Neji! Neji-niisan, you're safe! Youkata!" Her voice so quietly shook, obvious happiness running through her. However, there was a hint of fear bulging out of those words. Weakly and agitatedly his arms unconsciously wrapped around Hinata's back waistline. She was shivering in relaxed terror. His hands traveled to her concealed banded shoulders and eased her away. He pitied the sight. He stared into her mirroring eyes and saw much melancholy drenched in the tears that streaked her face. Inside he felt sadness and such aboulia upon life itself. He gently lifted the tan white hood from his younger cousin's head. Her hair had grown down to her shoulders from the last time they met. How long had he been here? How long had Hinata been here? At that point in time he had wondered what he himself looked like. He was well aware that his robe had been battered and torn, his body was frail and weak, and the bands and hitai-ate upon his forehead were gone, revealing his branch family seal. (Note: "This seal is attached to the members of the Hyuuga Branch Family. It is placed on the family member at birth to ensure the secrets of the Byakugan do not fall into enemy hands. It also ensures the Branch member follows the orders of the Main House. When the seal is placed on the Branch members' forehead, a hand seal known only by the Main family can destroy their mind." Courtesy of ) His hair had apparently grown exponentially, his best guess ankles. He muttered under his breath to get his hair cut.

"Hinata-sama… where are we? What is this place?"

"Oh? Neji-niisan… You really don't know..?" The teenaged Shinobi shook his head. "N-Neji…niisan… we're at war with Kumogakure no sato (Hidden Cloud village)…" Neji's breath quickened for a few seconds, and died down, heart pumping blood quickly as he forced himself to stand. When he damaged his leg he had no memory of. And why he had no knowledge of why he had no knowledge of this war (The repeated sentence was on purpose). Memories of the painful past flooded into his mind again. The agony of the curse seal engraved upon his forehead, the sight of the corpse of his dear father… the near end of Hyuuga Neji, as he himself knew it. A paroxysm of his very hell.

"When… did this happen?" The male Jounin's fists clenched as he stared blankly at the younger female Jounin. "WHAT happened? Why?" So many questions gnawed at his insides, the curiosity and helplessness of the unknown.

"T-Two weeks ago… shortly after my fifteenth birthday celebration at our home…" At that, Neji's stomach writhed and ached. He could've been there. He could've done something. He, however, just so happened to refuse, what with his shame. "When everyone was sleeping… dead in the night I was about to go to the restroom… I wanted to check up on Hanabi-imoto first…" She brought her hand to her face and cupped her delicate lips as if nauseous. "Above Hanabi-imoto was an assassin, who seemed not too much into killing her. For he was staring dead at me even before I came in…" Her voice quavered. "Instinctively, I couldn't help but charge in… already knowing it was an ambush. Of course it was and they..." She lifted the sleeves of her red sleeved robe, showing the bands about her arms. "Well… You know… before I lost consciousness… one of the men from Kumogakure told me that Hyuuga would be…" She took a breath. "…Destroyed and—and I saw one of them hold a kunai up to Hanabi-imoto's throat… Neji-niisan… where is my little sister…?" She let her sleeves drop and she buried her face in her hands, quiet sobs leaking through. Neji felt pity for his little cousin.

"Hi—Hinata-sama…" He beckoned her forward, wrapping around her shoulders and pulled her close, cradling her in his arms. "It's okay, please don't cry…" A few moments of silence calmed her down to a bittersweet sniffle, her hands weakly clutching the male Jounin's robes. "Hinata-sama? May I ask: How did you come out of it alive?"

"I think… they assumed me dead." Damn that must've been a lot of blood. It was quite true that she looked very pale. "Chichiue most likely saw the chakra still flowing in my body… and brought me back. The Hyuuga clan is continuously the target of the Rai… the rest of Konogakure can only hold so much of the Kumo Shinobi back… We escaped into the southwest forest in groups… planning to seek refuge in Sunagakure…"

"WHAT? Hinata-sama, why aren't we fighting instead of running away? Don't tell me we suddenly became cowards now?"

"Of COURSE we'd try to fight Neji-niisan! We are NOT cowards!" She snapped, looking Neji in the eye, a sudden wave of unhesitating confidence in her eyes. "A-Anyway… I was getting there. The elders had decided once again… upon the use of…the… branch…"

"THE BRANCH FAMILY? What? What did the elders do to the branch family?" In a fit of rage Neji grabbed Hinata by the collar. She quietly screamed in surprise, as she felt Neji's breath hard against her face.

"The-the branch family has—has been—" Unable to finish her sentence as she heard the gentle thud of something hitting the floor. Her eyes widened in horror as twenty opened large scrolls came through the entrance, blocking the way. Neji didn't need to turn around, and found no exit doing such aside the other door, which was too far for one to leap toward on time. The tips of the scrolls were aflame for an instant. Neji quickly wrapped his arms around Hinata's shoulders and chin over her head as he prepared for the impact. Waking up and dying here was not on his to-do list. He futilely leapt for the door on the other side. As he felt the gust upon his back. He heard a cry of words caught within the sound of the detonation. He hit the ground, Hinata still beneath him until they started rolling. Hinata fell forward and stopped six inches from where Neji had himself stopped, which was on the other side of the 'door'. "Neji-niisan? Daijobu desu ka?" Her now aching body forced itself to crawl toward the said Shinobi. They miraculously made it.

"Aa… shinpai suruna…" Neji slowly heaved himself up, hair in his face. And the other 2/3rds of it on the ground. "Damn it… I need a haircut…" He muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"OI!" Someone called from a slight distance. Neji had found it slightly threatening in his current bony starving state and set himself up "Stop the mild chat. We have more problems to attend to than your hair!" He saw a figure within the distant cloud of dust they'd call the explosion. As the dust cleared, they saw a rather threatening face but a familiar one. Raven black hair, pale face with bags embedded beneath the eyes. High collar easy access (to the neck muahah) T-shirt with white bands practically all from shoulder to toe and an ANBU uniform over top. What? They hadn't seen him in years!

"Sa—Sasuke-kun!" Hinata said breathlessly. Slightly more relaxed.

"Sasuke! You recovered! When?" Neji's eyes were wide open in shock and awe. Last time he saw Sasuke, Naruto had beaten him shitless; not knowing it was he. (I'm just making that up. I wanna figure out how Sasuke returns!) Plus, being taken over by an evil villain was not the best way to return either. The Uchiha rose an eyebrow.

"Six… weeks ago… You didn't know?" Sasuke said blankly, yet still baffled.

"Sasuke-kun," a voice called from behind him "can we get moving? We're currently being assaulted with explosives, and I highly doubt lucky Gokakyuu precision can happen twice for you." An older silver-haired masked man stepped forward. Yet again another ANBU. "Put on your mask, we're supposed to be unidentified…?"

"Kakashi-san…?" Neji blurted out as he they started running. Hinata lightly giggled, Sasuke gave a cheeky grin and Kakashi removed his mask.

"So much for unidentified… nah, Kakashi?" Sasuke said, pride just oozing from each word.

"So, Neji-kun, Hinata-chan what brings you here?" Kakashi said quickly, changing the topic.

Neji was silent for a moment as he slashed a hole in the wooden wall… or whatever it was. "I don't know why I'm here. Now may I ask the same question, where are we going, AND who is after us?"

"We were searching for Hinata. We're going to Sunagakure. People from Kumogakure are after YOU two. Hinata?" Sasuke said.

"I-I… I was sent out to scout for stone shinobi." She said as she jumped through the hole. She gasped as she turned around, seeing four explosive markers. The others looked in her direction.

"Ketsukai Houjin!" Kakashi sad sternly. "I'm suspecting there'll be more of this. Sound like fun. Mina, go a head. I'll catch up." The reassuring tone made them worry free apparently. The eldest Jounin stopped in his tracks.

"Don't fall behind." Sasuke said rather strictly, stopping as well. The other two followed suit. The Jounin in front of him took the sword from his sheath and slashed them to bits.

"A kiss for good luck?" He said mockingly, pointing at his cheek.

"I hate you." As he was about to continue on his journey, Kakashi spoke.

"You thought I was kidding?" The boy shuddered for an instant, turned around and growled, oblivious to the blush staining his cheeks. He continued journeying. Kakashi chuckled and watched for any more of the flying papers. Neji couldn't help but smile as he continued. He and Hinata just barely heard Kakashi say, "I love you too."

"G-Ganbatte Kakashi-san…" Hinata said as she went to keep up with the two.

As the three continued, Neji slowed down. Unwillingly, but none the less he did.

"OI, Neji. Doshita?" Sasuke turned his head just a little to catch a glimpse of the creamy-eyed shinobi, obviously tired.

"Ah… nothing… I'm fine…" he heaved, trying his beset to keep up at least with Hinata. He didn't know how long it was since he last ate, or since he moved. His body ached like hell, but that apparently wouldn't let him die that easily. Sasuke came to a sudden halt as he saw Neji tilt his head down to face the ground. It was clear to him that he deactivated his Byakugan without seeing his face, for if he still activated it; he would've never rammed into Sasuke. The ANBU slid backwards as he tried to stay on his feet.

"N—Neji-nii—niisan!" Hinata slid to a halt as well, hand to the ground as support.

"Neji… You're skin and bones. What've you been doing all this time?" Sasuke said sternly. He pulled out of a side pack a rice ball he reserved for himself, figuring it'd be better if Neji had it. "Eat this or I'll kill you." Hinata flinched at the strict and dangerous order. Sasuke obviously caught it, and he blankly explained. "Neji is none of my concern. I only have duty to protect you in this mission." He used his knee to prop Neji up, and held the ball of rice to the boy's face. "Now eat."

"I-if I'm none of your concern then… why are you even doing this… for me?" Neji's voice cracked, exhausted from the run.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Sasuke looked out somewhere and blanked out as he spoke "It's obvious Hinata wouldn't leave you behind for you to rot. If you're too tired you'll be nothing but dead weight." Hinata weakly smiled.

"Now I owe you. Arigatou, Sasuke-kun…"

"Just shut up and eat!" Sasuke snapped. Neji quickly complied and took a bite. Hinata stifled a giggle. A few moments later, Sasuke broke the silence, minus the sounds of mild chewing. "We need to find a good place to stay for a few hours. I don't want Kakashi to lose us." He said with slight concern. Unconsciously in slight hunger, he lifted the third rice ball he took out of his pouch after Neji took a bite and he himself sank his teeth into it. Bringing it back to a grinning Neji he froze. Neither Neji nor Hinata seemed to take too much notice into it but he could tell they at least knew what he just did. He took a bite out of something Neji just… Wait… over all he was FEEDING Neji. He shouldn't have been doing that in the first place!

"Something the matter, Sasuke-kun?" Neji said as he took another bite. Instantly, Sasuke shoved it into the Kunoichi's hands.

"Hinata! YOU feed him!" Sasuke growled. Neji frowned. 'But I like it better when YOU feed me!' His inner consciousness nagged, and he smacked it in the head.

"H-Hai…" She took the rice ball without argument. Neji now reluctantly opened his mouth to eat it. She knew he was vaguely disappointed but pretended to take no notice to it. She was blushing at the thought.

"I see no problem at all Sasuke-kun." Neji was a lot more smug than usual.

"Go to hell… Troublesome ass…" Sasuke was a lot more grumpy than usual

"Nah, nah! O-Ochitsuke kudasai!" Hinata was a lot more panicked than usual, with good reason. She expected this to be quite a long wait. "Kakashi-san will be here any second now." At least she hoped.

Her hopes were killed as seconds transformed into minutes and into hours. Before they knew it, nightfall had come and still no sign of Kakashi. Sasuke was half-conscious and could care less that Neji was sleeping soundly on his lap, though one would figure that he already knew what with the blush staining his cheeks.

The boy grew impatient and grumbled, tapped his foot, anything to keep him… satisfied with the quiet. At last it drove him insane and he slowly placed Neji on the ground. He looked to Hinata; she was standing. He walked up to her. He grinned; she had fallen asleep on watch. He gently set her down. Looking back to Neji he blushed turned around and was about ready to set off to find Kakashi. He took a step and walked into someone. Too dark to tell who it was by eyes, but by the voice that came from the panting he knew whom it was.

"Hi… Sorry… I'm… Late… I… Had…some trouble to deal… with. " The Jounin panted. Sasuke growled and gently punched the Jounin in the stomach. "I'm hurt." Kakashi said with utmost sarcasm dribbling from his words. Before he could continue mocking the poor worry struck boy, Sasuke landed a kiss on the silver-haired shinobi's cheek. "What was that for…?" He stared at Sasuke's hidden face. Obviously blushing.

"I… owed you that… where have you been?"

"I summoned a few Kage Bunshin for the Kumo Shinobi to play with. Or die from, whichever you choose" He smiled innocently, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist, drawing him closer. Sasuke tugged lightly on the shirt as he leaned in. "How've you been?"

"Scared… and worried for you… please warn me when you're going to be late?" His voice was muffled, buried in the other's chest but you could feel Sasuke was scolding him and Kakashi could feel it to; Sasuke was holding a threatening kunai to his stomach.

"Aa… I promise…" Kakashi said, slight nervousness in his tone. He lowered his head, and kissed the boy's sweet smelling hair. He was oblivious to the eyes at the back of Neji's head had activated, and was watching every bit of it.

"Now… You sleep, I'll stand watch." Sasuke directed, letting go of the Jounin.

"Nah, I'm the adult here, I'll do it."

"You sleep or die."

"Now, now! Violence is not always the answer!"

"It is for me!"

During this conflict, Neji was replaying Sasuke kissing Kakashi on the cheek in his mind over and over again. He began to feel his stomach twist again. He wasn't hungry that's for sure. What made him so into that one scene? He didn't... He couldn't have… Nothing was going to make him… or would it…?

Oops…

Later that night Sasuke and Kakashi agreed on watching out together.

Chapter 1 End

That was fairly short in my opinion. However that's how I figured to end it.

I know! The title for this chapter is French! Well bite my ass! I like French! Plus, I'm going into French 11 next year! Next chapter title is Simplement Jaloux!

Um… I know my last story I discontinued due to the fact I said no more KakaSasu but I got back into it as I came up with this story. Wah! NejiSasu and HinaNeji! Don't kill me! I can't continue the other story! I'm stuck!

Oh! There is a mix up. I kept writing Iwa instead of Kumo, so if you see any of that stuff lemme know!


	2. Simplement Jaloux

Apparition Chapter Two

Simplement Jaloux (Simply Jealous)

"Hinata-chan, how much further is it?" Sasuke asked blankly.

"Just a mile more." She heaved. Tired of this constant travel. JUST a mile more? That's like saying just a few more years until the sun implodes… or explodes… Whichever comes first.

'Kusot… I'm getting tired…' Neji thought to himself. He looked at Sasuke. He was obviously tired, but didn't seem to show it. No one could tell when Sasuke was exhausted unless he was almost dead. Surprise, surprise. 'He stayed up all night. He may hurt himself.' He jumped closer to Sasuke, as their run was endless. Spitting out hair from his mouth, he was about to offer some pity to Sasuke.

"Sa—"

"Sasuke-kun? Daijobu desu ka?" Kakashi tailed the boy in concern. He nodded and gave a weak grin and nodded. "Hounto ni? Don't need me to carry you?"

"OI! Daijobu desu! Okay?" The boy writhed. He turned around and gave a snotty "Humph!" The Jounin stared for a second as Sasuke just continued on. He chuckled and continued moving. Neji stared for a moment and snarled under his breath without himself knowing it. He reached into his borrowed kunai pouch and fished out a kunai. Yes.

Without himself knowing it. The Byakugan came forth.

He was starting to get rather angry. Never like before.

He was close to take aim toward anything silver…

Kakashi whirled around as he leapt from tree to tree.

"…Hey… Neji-kun?"

"WHAT?" The now bloodthirsty Hyuuga griped angrily.

"If you're going to carry so much killer intent… try to keep it in. Otherwise you're opponent will know your every angry little move." The Jounin smiled. Neji was angry for a few more seconds, until Sasuke and Hinata turned looked at him in concern. He stared at Sasuke, who was slightly paranoid; figuring an unknown enemy was nearby. Hinata had taken a guess and blushed. Neji took a breath and put the Kunai back into the pouch. What just happened to him? He was just teasing Sasuke earlier on. He knew he respected Sasuke but…

"Ah! Niisan!" Hinata said quietly, barely enough for him to hear. He turned around to acknowledge her but didn't find her anywhere. He came to a halt and stood upon a tree.

"Hinata-sama?" He reactivated his Byakugan. He found her chakra circulatory system on the ground. (Technically he would) "Hinata-sama!" He dove down to her side.

"Tsukareta… Sumimasen… Neji-niisan…" She was dead tired, and breathless. Sasuke and Kakashi also came to a halt. Commonly after starting, it's hard to start again. Sasuke's legs gave away, and he began to fall. Neji turned around to stare in horror. Hinata had only been so far from the ground. Sasuke on the other hand… He got up and ran for his ever-loving life. Well… Sasuke's ever-loving life. Just as he was under Sasuke's falling location, he closed his eyes and braced for the impact. He waited for a good few seconds, arms spread out wide.

"Hey… Neji-kun, doshita?" Neji's eyes opened. Sasuke wasn't in his arms, with gratitude or anything. He looked further up to find Kakashi kneeling upon a mossy mahogany tree, with Sasuke his arms… BRIDAL STYLE!

Neji twitched… 'Keep calm… Calm down… deep breaths… don't lose it…To hell with this…'

He took a leap to the skies, ready to use his Hakke Rokujuuyonshou. "KONO!"

"Neji-niisan!" He whirled around to find Hinata, reaching helplessly for him. There he sensed it. Enemy shinobi were coming closer and closer to Hinata. He stared from the unconscious Sasuke in Kakashi's arms to the helpless Hinata about to get slaughtered by random Kumo Shinobi. He kicked himself down from the nearest tree, propelling him down as quickly as he could go. The Kumo Shinobi had already in sight. He used his hand to push himself towards them from the ground and reached his other hand toward the enemy. "HAKKE KUUSHOU!" A burst of chakra blew in their faces and shot them backward into the bushes. Deciding he couldn't take any chances, he followed them. Deciding to try his luck, his feet came down hard upon their abdomens. He could hear a groan of agony from the two.

"Stay away from Hinata-sama…" He said lamely, already knowing he hit a vital and most likely killed them. He turned out of the bushes and lightly took a breath. He trotted toward Hinata, who was on the ground and probably very sore. "Hinata-sama… Did they hurt you?" He kneeled before her and picked her up. Her face went a bright red.

"Aa… I'm okay, you-you don't need to carry me." She allowed a timid smile to grace her lips. She let herself down from his arms, in an attempt to stand up she crumbled to the dirt. He quickly caught her.

" 'Okay' my eye. Hinata-sama, you need to tell me when you are less than well, alright? Get on my back!" He ordered. She obviously had no choice but to obey. She felt a slight shame for not telling him.

"Aa… Sumimasen… Neji-niisan…Arigatou" She slightly sniffled. One of the people she admired most, she embarrassed herself in front of the one she had begun to admire most since Naruto's three-year disappearance. She buried her face in her cousin's slim, strong back.

Neji propped her up properly before jumping up to the branch Kakashi kneeled on. The two stared at each other for a moment. One with anger, the other with uneasiness. Take a guess which emotion belongs to which.

"Let's go…" Neji said commandingly, as if he were the demagogue. Kakashi sighed and followed beside Neji. The eyes that were hovering over Kakashi were evil and uncomfortable. He held Sasuke closer, slightly insecure. Neji growled under his breath. Kakashi looked at the much younger Jounin. About to ask what was wrong. He didn't get the chance. "Stay away from Sasuke!" Not what Kakashi was looking for, but he had suspicions already. His face was still well collected.

"And…?"

"And what?"

"And if I refuse?"

There was a slight silence as they continued their walk. They too were tired.

"Neji… lately you've been the instigation of tension since I got here. What's going on?" Kakashi came to a halt, awaiting an answer. The older Jounin was getting the incentive he was a burden to Neji's… little affair with Sasuke, what ever it may have been. However, he wasn't going to let him have one of course. "If it's about Sasuke I'm only carrying him…"

"Just STAY AWAY from him! Once he wakes up, keep your distance."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll kill you…" the abrupt note of killer intent was seen in Neji's Byakugan eye. Anyone could see it from a mile away. He had no fear of killing Kakashi. There was the possibility that he would lose, but it was obvious that he could care less. The Jounin sighed; he knew someone would eventually get mad, he just didn't expect so soon.

"Ah, Neji­-kun?"

"What?" He writhed.

"…"

"…"

"No." Kakashi said rather blankly, and continued walking on. Neji just stood there; agape that Kakashi didn't even feel anything from the threats. He gritted his teeth, knowing right now, while Sasuke was lying helpless in the shinobi's arms that he could do nothing. Absolutely nothing whatsoever. Hinata just remained silent, fear boiling up within her. Of course she'd never release it. She couldn't. It wasn't like her. She was the border of heaven and hell. "Oh, and Neji-kun?" The Jounin paused and turned around. "Don't try to seduce Sasuke-kun any further… nah? It's very frustrating for both him and I." Neji couldn't help but think that Kakashi was only there to taunt him. The silver-haired shinobi decided to keep on walking as he finished up. "We still need to work as a team to put this war to a stop… But would you mind doing me a favor?"

"What…" Neji said bitterly.

"Stay away from Sasuke. Once he wakes up, keep your distance." His words were turned against him.

"And if I don't, you'll kill me?"

The Jounin sighed heavily. A long pause was there.

"No… I was asking of a favor, not a demand. I'm not ruthless…"

"Grrrr! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" He hollered. Kakashi brought his index finger to his lips and shushed him. Directing his finger to the sleeping Sasuke. How he did this as his hands were tied, I don't know. "WHY YOU!"

"Neji-niisan… mou yamete… Onegai…" Hinata tugged on her cousin's shirt. He froze; realizing Hinata had tightly wrapped her legs around his waist. She was terrified. Was it to fall… or something else…? "Onegai… Yamete…(Technically, she's just begging him to stop is all.)" He turned and looked into her face. Or what he could see of it. "Kowai…" Tears streaked her face and her voice was harsh and sounded beaten. "I…just want…to see… my family… You're scaring me…" Her voice was pleading. He couldn't move; the guilt had petrified him.

"Hinata…Sama…" He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Gomen nasaii…" He leapt from the trees and landed on the ground. He began his slow, guilt-baring trek.

Kakashi stood up on the branch, watching Neji continue walking. He then looked to Sasuke.

"…I think he suspects us." He said stupidly. "I think we better stay on the trees. He may just kill me." With that, he took his steps to the next branch.

After an hour or two of walking, Kakashi's feet were nearly broken, Neji would've been crawling if Kakashi didn't kick him in the ass five minutes ago when he fell on his knees. Sasuke was walking now, but was leaning on Kakashi for support. Hinata was trying to get off Neji's back but he insisted she needed to recover.

"Oi…there it is. Sunagakure." Kakashi pointed idly at the distant sandy horizon, where the trees began to cut off their location. Neji looked up, and sighed in relief. What he'd give to hit the ground right now.

"Thank God…" Neji said under his breath. "I don't think I can go any further…"

"Sorry Neji, but we have to continue a little further. Deserts aren't that simple to cross." Kakashi said almost bitterly, a hint of cheerfulness in his tone.

"Why in heaven's name are you so happy? The situation isn't all what's cracked up to be." He said quite calmly, now only slightly annoyed by the Jounin. Rage already subsided.

"Well… I just saved a lot of money by switching to GEICO (Is that how you spell it?)!" The shinobi said stupidly. Neji looked in disbelief. Was Kakashi bullshitting him?

"…Beg your pardon?"

"Well, I'm only kidding. I'm not really that cheery. It's just that we actually got out in one piece I suppose." Neji could only roll his eyes. Never in his life had he been so irritated, even when he was fighting the Otonin "Let's go!" The man sang. Another moronic action Neji could only assume, yet he followed anyway.

Making it to the entrance of Sunagakure, Neji spat the sand-covered hair out of his now rather agitated mouth. That was his last ounce of energy, for he hit the sand, and yet again got more sand in there.

"Eh? Neji-kun! Da—Daijoubu?" Hinata forced herself off of her cousin and to his side.

"Aa… tired… nothing to worry about." He gave her a reassuring smile. "We're here… at last…" he closed his eyes slowly, and lost all energy he had left. Hinata was just about to cry. When she saw an arm wrap around her Jounin Cousin's waist and pull him up.

"Kakashi-san…" Hinata looked up at him almost dumbfoundedly.

"Sa… ikou." The silver-haired shinobi lamely swung Neji over his shoulders and started walking. It looked like he was picking up a pencil, but Sasuke on the other side could tell that Kakashi was mentally rolling on the floor in agony. He almost laughed at the thought.

Hinata slowly got up and brushed herself off, and followed her way with the three Jounin.

They didn't know what they would see on the other side of the gates.

End Chapter 2

Holy crap that was short. It took me so long to write this because I've become a procrastinator beyond reasoning. I'm gonna do my best to get the next chapter up. I can't make promises though. R & R or you get NO lunch!


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